Mistbourne Chronicles
by CM Aeris
Summary: Blood, hidden politics, the end of the world. Vampires should be either in misery or bringing misery... Yet, there's something amusing that lurks around the corner. Whether a cranky child or a crazed arms dealer, the voice from above makes no promises.
1. Chapter 1

**CM****Aeris:** Hiya! This is a novelization of a VTM game with a group over skype. I tried to keep everyone's character true to how they're played in the game with some minor changes and added dialogue. Kudos to all the players and the GM in the game for putting up with this story. Other than that, please enjoy this rather strange story.

**The Mistbourne Chronicles**

**Chapter One**

Chatter, glitter and a room filled with fucking vampires. The only consolation was that none of these vampires are the sparkling disgrace that most girls seem to be lusting over the last few years. What kind of fucking vampire sparkles? A low growl emitted from the short teen studying the ongoing party. Fairly short, she looked no older than fourteen of age, but being here in the party of vampires, it was no doubt she was older than she seems.

"Temper Alps, it wouldn't do if you start something in the presence of the prince." Her Gangrel sire chortled.

"I'm not going to start anything." She muttered with her arms crossed, looking more harmless than threatening to anyone looking.

Her sire snorted in amusement as he petted her head. "Enjoy the party. Just make sure to greet the prince when the time comes."

"Go get drunk." She retorted in annoyance.

The man gave a laugh as he left, heading towards the bar filled with blood and alcohol. Alps kept to herself as she watched the proceedings of the party. Two stood out immediately in the crowd of vampires, an old man robed in a hooded cloak holding an aged staff with a intimidating owl perched at the top, another, a half-man, half-stag being mingling with the rest of the party. Neither she was inclined to speak to; she was more interested in watching for potential threats from her fellow kindred.

The most intimidating in the room was likely the Gangrel sheriff hovering near the prince, looking everywhere, just as she was. Despite his intimidating presence, Alps noticed an idiot waltzing up to the prince and interrupting his merrymaking. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but the prince did not look impressed when he was done. If anything the prince fanned him off as if he was an insignificant insect.

Her eyes trailed after the idiot as he moved to the old man with the owl and later to a timid looking girl hiding behind a peculiar looking man. How pathetic, she's not going to last long clinging to her sire like that. Losing interest, Alps turned her attention elsewhere. How much longer until the prince was seated? She sighed in annoyance as she leaned against a nearby table.

Everyone was either feeding off the assortment of mix blood or mingling. An annoyed tick was starting to twitch under her eye as she tapped her foot impatiently.

"Good evening, you're a bit young." Alps glanced up with annoyance at the voice. It was that idiot from before.

"And what's wrong with being a little short? I could fucking tear off your limbs if I want to." Alps snarled.

"And I could dust you with a single touch." He retorted.

A Tremere, she reasoned in annoyance as she glanced over his person. Unlike her, he was formally dressed for the party, and adorning his clothing were Celtic symbols.

_Temper._ She remembered her sire's words. Grudgingly, she stepped away before a fight could start. It wouldn't do to start a fight here in the prince's court. She would never hear the end of it from her sire.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before the prince was finally seated and those who have yet to greet or pledge to him came to his presence.

The first to talk was the Tremere, named Norman, and wouldn't you know it, the idiot had already pledged himself during the party, why he bothers coming up again is beyond anyone's thought. The next was a decayed looking vampire and Nosferatu, named James, he was brief and to the point, something Alps could respect. The third was a foreigner, one that Alps find mildly interesting at this point.

"I am Aleksey!" he said in a heavy Russian accent. "I new to town. Greetings to your majesty, I hope to have safe passage through your town yes?"

"Hmm?" The prince hummed in boredom with his chin resting on one hand before waving him off. "Oh yes, welcome to the town, safe passage and all those other pleasantries."

Alps glanced around, the only ones left was her and the timid looking young woman standing next to her. It didn't seem like she was going to talk anytime soon, and Alps had no interest in wasting anymore time.

"I pledge my allegiance to your highness." Alps said briefly with an arm in front of her and a slight bow. If it weren't for her sire's suggestion, she would never have bothered with this. Getting involved with politics was never her thing.

The prince looked mildly amused. "Yes, you are quite young aren't you child? Run along."

The sound of grating teeth could be heard by all. Alps said nothing as she stepped back and away from the prince as she resisted the urge to throttle the insipid bastard.

The last to present herself to the prince was the timid young woman. She promptly walked up with a small curtsy and introduced herself softly. "G-good evening your majesty. My name is, my name is Laura."

"Yes, yes. Very well, go enjoy yourselves." The prince dismissed with a bored drone, but as the group was walking off the sheriff approached the prince with a grim face.

The room fell silent as everyone tried to listen in on what was being said, but it was obvious that it wasn't something pleasant as the prince's face twisted into a scowl. Fury rolled off his person as he slammed his hand on his throne.

"That insolent wench!" He snapped and turned his attention to the retreating group. "You five! Go get me the head of Baron Estemonte!"

Alps resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Really? Not even one night in swearing allegiance to the man and he's sending them off to kill a baron. Oh, did she mention the person they're hunting is a fucking baron? Someone that is likely more powerful than a ragtag team of… Alps glanced at her team again. A team that consists of a Tremere, a Nosferatu, a Gangrel, a foreigner she's not too certain of, a timid girl that doesn't seem like she could harm a fly. Never mind that, she could see this is going to be one hectic night.

"Of course, my prince… Can you tell us a little more about the Baron?" The Tremere asked.

What followed after was a torturously long-winded attempt from the Norman to get any information from the prince that could assist the fight against the baron. At least it felt long-winded to Alps, by then she had already tuned out whatever was being said. If they were to bring the baron's head back, it just means they have to find some way to kill her without her killing them first. Wasn't that simple enough?

"What would you get?" The prince's drawl drew her attention back to the group. "How about this? You don't die, the next time I see you."

Alps was speechless, the idiot actually demanded some sort of payment?

"Um… that's good payment." The Tremere murmured quietly as he eyed the sheriff standing menacingly by the prince. "We'll be off my liege."

"Finally." Alps muttered under her breath as she sticks her hands in her pockets and turned to leave. At least she thought they were leaving.

"Wait!" The sheriff called out as they reached the lobby.

Alps glanced back warily as the group listened with rapt attention. Who wouldn't? The man was the prince's sheriff. And if they failed to bring Estemonte's head back, it's likely this man that will hunt them to the ends of the earth.

"Listen, you don't really have to bring back the baron's head. Just get a treaty or a signature of loyalty and that would be fine. The prince will cool off eventually." He spoke softly.

"… We could do that and the prince would not kill us?" The Tremere asked cautiously.

"I'm quiet certain." The sheriff replied as he glanced back to the crowd. "Now if you excuse me, it's time for the entertainment. I'm having a duel with a werewolf tonight."

"A werewolf?" The Tremere gasped.

"Aw! I wanted to see that!" Laura whined childishly.

Alps raised a brow. Maybe the young woman wasn't as timid as she originally thought. How were they getting to the baron's estate?

"We go by car." Aleksey commented as the group gathered outside. A look was shared among them before they followed the Russian vampire to his SUV.

"WOOH! WOOH! I want to drive! I want to drive!" Laura flailed her arms wildly for the keys.

Aleksey stared at her for a moment before shrugging. He saw no harm in her driving his car. "Don't dent my baby." He said as he tossed the keys to her.

The young woman gave a squeal as she caught the keys and rushed to climb into the car. Alps was quick to take the front seat before anyone could decide they wanted it… Little did she know, she should've taken the backseat.

It turned out, Laura was a Malkavian and her driving… was a little less than sane. Alps wasn't sure what they ran over along the way, but she was strapped in by the time the car ran the first red light and by the end of the ride, she was clinging to the handle bar above hoping for her dear after life she doesn't see her final death so soon.

"Looks like we're here." Norman commented as they all stepped out of the car.

What greeted them was an old mansion with the grace and extravagance of old money and power. The group was not impressed, considering the prince's party was so much more. A clicking sound of a gun being loaded drew the group's attention to the source.

"Aleksey bring AK-47, da?" The Russian vampire inquired as he pulled more weapons from the back of his trunk.

"… We're not fighting anyone!" Norman quickly interrupted. "Look we only need to talk to the baron and convince him to give us a signature for the prince."

"We can convince baron with gun." Aleksey reasoned with a tilt of his head.

"No!" Norman looked between him and the mansion. "How about this? You stay out here and wait. If we're in trouble then you come guns a blazing. Deal?"

"Aleksey wait five minutes."

"Look!" Norman sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose finding himself lost for words dealing with this man. "Estemonte is a baron. Which means he is an elder of sorts and QUITE powerful. I don't think we want to pick a fight with him."

"But… if something goes wrong we should have a way to signal him to come help us." Alps inserted.

"Fine! Fine! Come in when you hear a gunshot." Norman muttered under his breath as he turned to the mansion. However, not even a step towards the mansion he looked back warily. "You're not going to come in with your weapons after we walk in are you?"

"I make no promises." Aleksey rested his gun against his shoulder.

"…I could stay behind and watch him if you want." Laura offers helpfully.

"Yes, thank you Laura." Norman said in relief, but paused when he saw his remaining teammates. He gave a dejected sigh and turned to walk towards the building. "All right let's go."

Alps glanced about for security measures, but it seemed like the owner made no interest in modern technology. Still, it doesn't mean she's not on her guard just the same. While she was studying their surroundings, Norman made his way to the door and knocked. The door creaked open as an old ghoul in a butler suit stepped out to greet them. Darkness enveloped him if not for the candle he held.

"May I help you?" He asked with a raspy gasp. He was positively ancient.

"We wish to speak with Baron Estemonte." Norman quipped.

The ghoul rasped for another breath as he stepped back into the darkness. "Very well. Come in."

Norman glanced back to the group with a slight nod as they followed the ghoul in. Moments after they entered, the door slammed shut and locked itself.

"May I have your coats please?" The ghoul rasped as he held out his hand expectantly.

Norman and James looked reluctant. To ask for a vampire's coat meant that the ghoul wanted them to be unarmed before meeting the baron. Alps gave a shrug as she handed her wool coat to the man. She had no weapon on her person. There were no qualms for her to part with her coat.

"Gentlemen?" The ghoul inquired again.

"Very well." Norman murmured as he and James reluctantly handed the ghoul their coats.

"Excellent, this way please." The ghoul rasped again as he led them to a nearby door. "Milady, you have gue—"

BANG!

The group tensed at the gunshot as the ghoul crumpled to the ground. The door drifted open. On the other side was a curvaceous woman grinning seductively as she pulled the gun back in amusement. Her clothing showed plenty of her cleavage and legs. She leaned back without a care as she waved her gun about.

"Nice shot madam." The ghoul rasped out as he slowly crawled back onto his feet.

"A-are you Baron Estemonte?" Norman asked cautiously as she glanced over the group lewdly.

"Yes." She drawled. Turns out, the baron was a woman. "My, aren't you an interesting one?"

CRASH!

The window behind the woman shattered as a grenade flew through and landed on the ground. The woman glanced at the item with boredom as the group paled with terror. Alps hastily grabbed the grenade and tossed it back out the window watching as it exploded and a trail of gas following its descent. From there, she could see Aleksey pulling back from his throwing.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Alps snapped.

"I helping!" Aleksey shouted from outside.

"Sorry! I tried to stop him!" Laura added.

Alps held back a growl of annoyance as she glanced back to the rest of her current team. Norman was apologizing profusely, and James had moved himself to a corner near the door.

"I'm terribly sorry, we have a deranged member in our group, we tried to keep him outside to stay out of trouble, but I'm terribly sorry for what he's done." Norman worked out nervously, trying not to offend the woman.

"Hmm." She shrugged, not caring at all as she ran a passing hand over Norman's behind. He jumped at the touch as she sashayed to the chairs. "Shall we take a seat?"

Only Norman took the invitation to sit. Alps and James opted to stay by the window and door for their own reasons. Whether to watch out for another Aleksey attack or flee at a moment's notice. Norman was not happy to be sitting with the baron by his lonesome.

"Well, what do you want?" She drawled. "It's not every night I have suitors at my door."

Norman gave a brief glare to his companions before clearing his throat. "We're just curious to why you did not attend the prince's party tonight."

"Oh, his parties are such a bore, I rather not attend." She sighed in boredom.

"But you're dressed so lovely for the evening, are you sure you want to miss out such a chance?" He tried to sway her.

"Yes." She glanced at him with a wry grin as she leaned forward onto her empty hand, showing plenty of cleavage. "You seem to want me to go badly, why is that?"

Norman breathed through his nose quietly. "… We would like for you to sign an allegiance with the prince."

"And if I don't want to?" She glanced at her nails.

"…If you don't sign this, my companions and I will die." Norman added slowly.

"And what do I get from this?" She leaned back and draped a hand over her waist.

"Um…" Norman paused for a moment.

"Idiot." Alps muttered under her breath.

"Well… if you do me a favor I'll think about signing something of the sort." Estemonte droned.

"… What exactly do you want us to do?" Norman asked.

"Oh nothing too difficult. I just need you to get rid of some Anarchs for me. They've been a nuisance as of late, feeding and barging into my territory as if they own it." She sighed.

"…Anarchs? May I ask what would be dealing with?"

"Brujahs."

Norman was silent. "Brujahs? Exactly how many Brujahs are we talking?"

"Oh… give or take twenty or more… maybe on the more side." She hummed.

"… You want us… to go against over twenty plus Brujahs?" Norman asked in disbelief.

"Fine, fine, I'll sign it now and throw in an offering with it. Now will you do it?" She polished her gun absently. "I am getting quite bored with this conversation."

"… If you would please." Norman murmured.

"Very well." She sighs as she snapped her fingers for her ghoul to bring her paper and a quill. Using her own blood as ink, she scribbled furiously with a flourish before handing over the paper with a lazed presentation.

"…Can we have the address to the Brujahs' location?" He asked.

"Oh you can get it from my ghoul. It's quite a flaming bar. You won't be able to miss it."

"Here you are sir." The old ghoul rasped out as he handed him a crudely drawn map.

BANG!

The old ghoul was once again shot and rasping from the ground. "Excellent shot… milady."

"…We'll show ourselves out." Norman choked out before James was out of the door.

Alps stayed only long enough to watch Norman get his ass pinched by Estemonte before he scrambled out of the room and fleeing. A grin creeping across her lips as they left the manor.

"Sorry!" Laura apologized profusely as they got near. "I tried to stop him, but it didn't work…"

Aleksey shrugged. "You said gunshot."

Norman glared at him before taking a deep breath. "Head back to the prince's party. We have her signature, we'll get to doing her request after dropping this off with the prince."

"All right then!" Laura said as she climbed into the driver's seat as everyone else piled in. The ride back to the party was in silence, this time Laura was driving at a saner pace. It wasn't long before they've reached the building and with all the guards at the party, they went in with no difficulty.

As they walked in, a cheer erupted as a snarling beast whimpered and a wet weight landed on the ground. The room was singing with blood in the air. Weaving through the crowd and reaching the open floor, they spotted a trail of blood on the ground as the ghouls dragged off the corpse of a werewolf. The sheriff was sweeping off the dust on his clothes as he returned to the prince's side.

Norman cleared his throat as he stepped up and bowed slightly to the prince. "Your majesty, we've returned with a pledge of allegiance from the baron." He presented the paper to the prince.

The sheriff took the page and handed the paper to the prince. The group stood in silence as the prince glanced through the page, murmuring as he read through its contents. A mild look of annoyance crossed his face as he crumpled up the paper and tossed it aside.

"You haven't read the note have you? " The prince drawled.

"Erm… Sorry sire, no we haven't." Norman admitted sheepishly. "What did she say?"

"Vulgar things the woman's usual." The prince sighed. "Very well, go retrieve that offering she mentioned." He fanned them off yet again.

Alps could see a grimace on Norman's face. None of them had thought to read over the agreement before offering it to the prince. Who knows what insults Estemonte have written.

"Of course my liege." Norman replied as they left the building once again. "Note to self, check paper next time."

"So what now?" Laura asked as they walked back to the car.

"We're going to tell some Anarchs to leave town. Here's the address. No one bother me for the next 30 minutes." Norman grumbled as he climbed into the back of the SUV and plopped down meditating.

"What wrong with him?" Aleksey asked, not looking all that interested at the answer as they all piled into the car.

"…We have a lot of Brujahs to deal with." James says quietly as Laura started the car.

The Russian vampire raised a brow as he pulled open his jacket and checked over the various grenades and weapons hidden in its folds.

"… Why do you have so much?" James asked warily.

"Aleksey own weapon emporium. It has good motto." He commented.

"… And what motto is that?" James asked.

The weapon-loaded vampire raised a hand and drifted it across the air as if showing his audience something tangible in front of him. "Come to Aleksey's quality weapon emporium. Prices so cheap even the Malkavians think it crazy."

"Erm… very nice." James commented as he pretended to clear his throat and ignore the heavily armed vampire sitting next to him.

Silence filled the car once again as Laura drove… At least for about twenty minutes.

"FUCK!" Norman shouted in frustration as he muttered curses about someone named Lawrence, under his breath.

"Did you have a nice nap?" Aleksey asked.

"I wasn't napping!" Norman snapped. "I was talking to my sire to see if we could get some help."

"Did it help?" Laura asked quietly.

"No." Norman grumbled under his breath. "We need to strategize. We're up against a shitload of Brujahs."

"Aleksey bring guns."

"Enough with the guns!" Norman shouted.

Alps sighed as she tuned out the rest of their so call planning. What a night this is turning out to be. With Laura's speedy driving, they made it to the location of the Anarchs' hideout under an hour. The area was quite desolate sans a group of homeless in a distance crowding over a can barrel fire. The rowdiness of the bar could be heard even without stepping through its doors.

"All right…" Norman took a deep breath as he glanced over to Alps. "Uh… how about you come in with me first? It doesn't look like they would hurt a little girl."

"…" Alps opened her mouth to correct him, but she snapped her mouth shut in annoyance. It wasn't even worth arguing anymore. "Fine."

"Aleksey you can back us up..." Norman said exasperatedly. "And don't fuck up."

"Aleksey never fuck up." He said as he cocked his gun.

"Please don't fire your gun." Norman begged.

"Aleksey doesn't repeat himself." He retorted.

Norman pinched the bridge of his nose as he walked towards the bar with Alps in tow and the rest of the party following close behind. As he pushed open the door, the sound of heavy metal assaulted their ears. As they looked in, there were Brujahs in every corner of the room, not a mortal in sight. Dressed in various levels of leather and bondage, it looked like they've stepped into a BDSM sex shop.

Chatter in the room died as the group walked in. James was quick to slink into the darkest corner of the room with Norman following him close behind. Laura looked about, standing very out of place with her timid nature. Alps on the other hand looked absolutely gleeful despite the threat of possible death by a Brujah mauling.

Aleksey stood the firmest in the group as he strolled over to the bar and tapped on the hulky vampire's shoulder. "Where is your leader?"

"You're speaking with him. What'd you want?" The hulking vampire grunted glancing at him and the rest of the group. "Two women, a Nosteferatu and a child. Interesting group you have here."

"I have proposition." Aleksey started. "For you to leave area."

"And why should we leave? This is our territory." The Brujah leader growled.

"You are aware of Baron Estemonte, da?" Aleksey commented casually.

"What did the bitch tell you? That this is her territory?" He snorts. "The little bitch just waltzes in here and takes _our_territory. She has some balls to ask us to leave."

"No sir, you have no balls." Aleksey retorted.

Norman palmed a hand to his forehead; an audible slap could be heard as flesh met with flesh. He groaned as he made his way to James hoping Aleksey didn't just bring hell to their little group.

"You want to repeat that?" The Brujah roared.

Aleksey tapped his chest. "You are little bitch. You use crappy guns from China. Until you get good gun not made from China, you are not a man."

"What?" The Brujah looked lost.

"You're using bad quality gun. I will make you deal." Aleksey drawled as he pulled out a card and handing it to him in one fluid motion.

"What sort of deal?" The Brujah looked at Aleksey warily as he glanced at the card. "Aleksey weapon emporium?"

"Aleksey arms dealer. Good AK-47 in stock. You leave for one day and Aleksey make you good deal."

"… Just one day?" The Brujah asked with a frown.

"Why leave for good? With good AK-47 you can take back territory from baron bitch. It's all about planning."

The Brujah looked at the card and then back at Aleksey. Uncertainty still lingered on his gruff face. "…How fast can you get it here?"

A grin spread across the Russian vampire's lips. "We ship from international waters. Give me two weeks."

Alps watched in amusement as they hashed out the last of the details of their deal. Norman couldn't have gotten a better reaction from this group of Anarchs compared to their Russian companion. It wasn't long before Aleksey was finished and earn a firm slap to the ass from the laughing Brujah.

"We will leave the area." The Brujah declared. The rest of the Anarchs agreed.

"Good doing business with you." Aleksey replied, ignoring the slap to the ass.

"And I look forward to those guns." The hulky vampire said as he walked to the door with him. His wandering hand found his way to Norman's behind before delivering the second pinch the Tremere's cheek has suffered tonight.

Alps covered her mouth as she tried terribly to stifle her laughter. Norman fled from the bar in haste with James behind him. Laura and Aleksey followed after with an even pace. Alps on the other hand jumped up to give the hulking Brujah a goodbye hug. The Anarch bar was possibly the highlight of her night.

The vampire chuckled as he patted her head. "All right sweetheart. Get on out of here."

Alps hummed happily as she skipped back to the car.

"…Did you just hug the Anarch leader?" James asked as she jumped into the car.

"Yes." She replied cheerily as she buckled in.

"…Okay…" James became quiet once again.

The ride was silent for all of two minutes before Alps cracked up laughing. "So how was it like to have your ass pinched and molested twice in a night?"

"I hardly find that hilarious." Norman grumbled out.

"Twice?" Laura asked curiously.

"Once by Estemonte and just now by the Brujah leader." Alps grinned cheek to cheek. "No really, your ass is very popular tonight."

"Oh shut it." Norman grumbled.

Alps made no further comment, but the group could hear her snickering for the rest of the ride back to the baron's. This time, the group went to the manor as a whole with the ghoul butler greeting them like before.

"Ah… you're here for milady again?" The ghoul rasped as he stepped aside and ushered them in. "She is waiting for you."

"How did it go?" Estemonte drawled as she walked in.

"They said they'll leave." Norman reported. It seemed like tonight's task was over.

Unfortunately, their hopes were doused. The roaring of motorcycles neared the manor. The group rushed to the broken window and glanced out. Coming down from the end of the street were two motorcycles, each with two Brujahs racing towards the manor. A Molotov cocktail could be seen in one of the Brujah's hands as he readied to chuck at the manor.

"It looked like you failed." Estemonte sighed as she pulled out her gun.

"Wait!" Norman protested wanting to find a peaceful way to deal with the attacking Anarchs.

Alps was having none of it. It was enough that they were running from place to place and now they're having a Molotov cocktail threatening them? Someone is getting hurt tonight. With a jump, Alps crashed through the broken window and raced towards the oncoming bikes using her celerity.

She leapt into the air and delivered a devastating kick to the Brujah with the cocktail in hand. The kick landed soundly into his face and he flew clean off the bike. The cocktail dropped onto the vampire behind him and bottle broke atop the second vampire's head. The burst of flames spread over his body as he too fell off the bike.

All the while, the bike was used as a kickoff platform for Alps to dodge the raging flames. Her clothes were barely singed when she landed a safe distance. The other pair of Brujahs raced off after the encounter. She glanced over to the remaining Brujah as she waited for his next attack.

"Ugh…" The hulky vampire groaned as he crawled back to his feet. At a closer look, she recognized him as the Brujah leader she hugged not even an hour ago.

Was he going to attack? Were they going to have the entire group of Anarchs on them?

"…Aw man… I'm never going to live this down!" He complained as he rubbed his face. "Beaten by a little girl. Damn!"

Alps grinned slightly. That was a pretty good insult, beaten by a little girl. She's really starting to like these Anarchs.

BANG!

The leader Brujah toppled to the ground as blood spewed from a smoking hole in his head. Alps quickly turned around and spotted the baron pulling back her gun with a pleased look.

"Well, they are good for target practice aren't they?" Estemonte drawled as the group backed away from her.

"… Something just crossed my mind." James murmured. "Anarchs aren't the type to leave quietly..." The rest was left unspoken. They weren't trying to attack them; they were just leaving with their own flair.

"Oh very well." She sighed as she left the window.

Alps stared down at the corpse before her a little disappointed. She liked the rowdy Brujah. Oh well, no reason to cry over spilled milk. She made her way back to the car as the rest of the group exited the manor. Norman was reading through a piece of paper as he walked back to the car and nodding to himself before pocketing the paper. The ride back to the party was silent. Everyone was relieved that the task was finally over. All they needed to do now is to report back to the prince.

When they stepped back into the party, they spotted a conga line dispersing and implications of plenty of questionable events that occurred in their absence. For example, the Nosferatu Primogen was dancing naked atop the stage. There was a story behind it, but Alps wasn't all too interested in finding out how or why the corpse-like man was up there, naked and dancing.

Reporting to the prince was a quick affair with the prince himself looking quite drunk by then. Norman handed over the piece of paper he was reading earlier and it was finally over.

"You can go back to the party." The prince sighed, he looked ready to leave for the night.

From there the group broke up. Alps was glad that she was finally free from the weird adventure that she was dragged into. She grabbed a drink from the nearby table and found the stag-man lounging atop the table she was grabbing the blood form. Laura decided to join her when the stag-man started talking.

"You there, youngling! Aren't you too young to be in an event like this?" He boomed out in his drunken slur.

Alps placed the glass against her lips to keep her from exploding in his face. If she ever found the vampire that sired her, she will give him a good pounding for doing it when she was so young. Her current sire though… She glanced about for the Gangrel and spotted him at the bar, steadily building a pyramid of shot glasses.

She decided to turn back to the conversation between Laura and the stag-man as she finished the rest of her glass. There was something strange laced in the blood, she swirled the blood in her mouth a little and sighed. Someone infused narcotics into the blood. No wonder the party was so strange. Someone spiked the drinks.

"There's a war coming!" The stag-man hiccupped.

"What war?" Alps asked as she set the glass back on the table.

"You know…" He slurred. "The war between your kind, my kind, the werewolves and all those other people. World ending and all."

"What do you mean?" Laura asked.

"Ah, nothing to worry your little heads over. Just know the shit storm is coming." He raised another glass to his mouth before passing out on the table.

"… A whole lot of help that was." Alps muttered darkly.

"What do you think he means?" Laura asked meekly.

"Who knows." Alps muttered as she glanced around the party again.

This time she spotted the three guys from her earlier little group talking with the old man with the owl. Well, James and Norman were talking with the old man. Aleksey was oddly, trying to talk to the owl. Probably the strangest thing she'd seen all night.

CRASH!

Alps corrected herself. That was not the strangest thing she's seen all night. The man who just crashed in through the stain glass windows was the strangest thing she's seen. The man was in a flamenco styled Zorro costume with a pink feathery masquerade mask over his face. She had never seen so many colorful frills on a man in her life.

"Oh no…" Laura sighed as she placed a hand over her face. She looked utterly embarrassed.

"The children! Help the children at the iron factory!" He begged dramatically resting the back of his hand on his forehead.

He looked briefly at Laura first before moving onto each of the vampire in their ragtag team. The man dropped his cape in an exaggerated flourish and crashed through yet another window. The party was silent for a moment looking at the two broken windows and a floor covered with glass. Then promptly returned to the party as if nothing happened.

"…Who was that?" Alps asked as she stared at the broken windows.

"… The Malkavian primogen." Laura muttered darkly, her timid voice gone for a moment before she stormed over to the abandoned cape. Norman and James were not far behind.

She really shouldn't go over. She should really mind her own business… Alps sighed in defeat as she trudged over to the group. Damn her and her curiosity.

o.o.o.o.o

CM Aeris: How was it? Good? Bad? Leave a review! And if you're interested in listening to the game it is posted at **Objects****In****Space****Studios** in blogspot hosted by the GM of the game. Also thanks to Norman's player, Rob, for beta-ing this chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

**The Mistbourne Chronicles**

**Chapter Two**

"What do you think he was talking about?" James asked as Norman searched the abandoned cloak.

"Who knows, he's the Malkavian primogen." Norman muttered as he found a pocket in the cloak. "Ah-ha!"

"What did you find?" Laura asked as she swiped the cloak and draped it over herself. She flapped her arms about as she played with the cloak.

Alps tiptoed a little to peek at the card Norman was holding. Written in an elegant cursive writing was the name Club B, a gentlemen's club, and under was the Malkavian primogen's name, Chris.

"A tittie bar?" Alps asked curiously.

Laura gasped in horror. "Where did you learn such language young lady?"

Alps looked mildly annoyed. "I'm not as young as I look and what kids nowadays doesn't know what that means?"

Laura looked flustered. "Well, I would like a word with the person that would say something to a girl that looks your age."

The smaller vampire raised a brow. "You want a word with the internet…"

"Well, I…" Laura was lost for words.

"Also, you're not my mother. Piss off." Alps snorted.

"I was just… I was just…" Laura stammered and ducked down her head embarrassed.

"… So what should we do?" James asked, decidedly ignoring the argument. "Should we head over to the iron factory he mentioned?"

"That area in particular is a high activity zone for hunters and pretty much whoever or whatever we really don't want to run into." Norman commented as he flipped card around to see to see if there was anything else behind it.

"… Also, what did he mean by save the children? He was awfully vague." James murmured.

"I think we really should try to figure out more about this whole thing before even thinking of going to the iron factory." Norman suggested.

"Then are we heading to the tittie bar?" Alps said purposely to annoy the other woman.

Norman paused to look down at her for a moment with an odd expression over his face before he sighed. "… Yes, we're going to the tittie bar."

James glanced about the party. "We should probably look for Aleksey… Where is he anyway?"

The group glanced about and the Russian vampire was nowhere in sight.

"Do we still have his keys?" Alps asked.

Laura raised her hand with the keys jingling in her grasp.

"We can look for him later." Norman pressed on the matter. "He won't leave without his car… I think."

"… But we really haven't asked for permission." Laura said meekly.

"We're not stealing it." Alps sighed. "Let's just go already."

"We'll fix his car if we damage it." Laura nodded to herself as they walked out to the car.

"Says you." Alps muttered under her breath.

"The address is on the back of the card. We should be able to get there fairly quickly." Norman said as he strapped himself in the front seat.

Alps had opted to take the backseat. She wasn't risking another crazy Malkavian drive from the woman. The ride seemed normal for the most part, sans the heavy foot on the gasp pedal. Being three in the morning, there wasn't much traffic to deal with.

Yet, half an hour into the drive, Laura had slammed the brakes. Alps found her face planted into the back of the passenger seat in spite of wearing her seatbelt.

"THIS MOVIE SUUUUUUUUUCKS!" The voice of a tortured hobo wisped into the car as he stumbled drunkenly in front of them. He gripped a bottle of whisky in one hand and a bottle of rum in the other.

They stopped in front of a movie theatre. Alps bit back a groan as she slumped into her seat. Outside was a horde of Twilight fans lining up for the latest sparkling vampire movie. What was worse was that this was one of her usual feeding spots and it is now invaded by Twitards.

"… There's a vampire standing in line." Laura commented after a glance at the crowd. "He's… wearing a team Edward shirt and glitter on his face…"

Alps glanced out and spotted the man Laura was commenting on. He looked a bit too happy and excited over this. Promptly both Norman and Laura left the car. Laura walked up to the Twitard vampire and Norman walked up to the hobo trying to consol the miserable man.

She couldn't hear what either of them was saying from the noise of the squealing fan girls, but from what she could see, Norman was doing quite well with consoling the bum before two other bums each wearing a fedora and a yellow hat, respectively, hauled the drunken bum away from their car. Norman returned to the car a moment later.

"Was that your good deed for the night?" Alps asked.

"You won't understand." Norman said sounding pleased about himself.

Alps shrugged as she glanced out. Laura was still talking to the glitter-covered vampire. He was bouncing from feet to feet, his mouth flapping a mile a minute. Even if she could hear what he was saying, she highly doubts she wanted to hear what he was saying.

Norman pressed down the window. "LAURA! Get in the car!"

And the Malkavian didn't hear him. Or she ignored him. He tried two more times before Alps decided to unbuckle herself and smash the horn over and over again.

"All right! I'm coming!" Laura said as she bid her farewells and left the poor excuse of a vampire. And much to Alps' annoyance, she took her sweet time walking back to the car. "Can you believe it? He's seen this movie seven times already." She said as she climbed in.

"… Wait… isn't everyone supposed to be at the prince's party tonight?" James asked.

"… Do we really care?" Alps asked as she strapped herself back in and the car continued on its way. James shrugged as they continued the rest of the trip in silence… yet again.

Eventually, the group reached an old Victorian townhouse and made their way through the front doors. There a second butler greeted them for the evening. Alps tilted her head questionably. What kind of strip club has a butler?

"Sirs, madams." The man greeted them crisply as he glanced them up and down. "This is a gentlemen's club. A formal attire is necessary and preferably without ladies."

Only Norman and Laura were dressed in any semblance of formality.

"… Can you make an exception for this once?" Norman asked politely.

The butler glanced at them again, scoffing at the state of undress and unwanted genders. "Very well."

"Thank you." Norman said as he shrugged off his jacket and draped it over Alps, followed by Laura doing the same with the Malkavian primogen's cloak.

The small vampire felt a twitch under her eye again. Were they using her as a coat stand? She gripped onto the offending articles and pulled it over her head.

_Hold your temper, hold your temper. _

As they continued down the wooden paneled halls, they caught the scent of cigars and a soft chattering of men. It was nothing like what Alps expected. The classy interior told her that this was no strip club, but if it wasn't one, what was it? Annoyed, she pulled out her phone and started typing in the search engine for results of gentlemen's club.

It was not a euphemism as she thought. Apparently, it was a club filled with rich old farts that have nothing better to do than to be presumptuous and bragging about their wealth and power in the face of their fellow men. She snapped her phone shut as they reached a lavished room filled with leathered furniture and a roaring fireplace.

Inside were a number of well-dressed men. All seemed to be emitting various levels of danger and power. This was not a simple club. Laura was whispering to the group what she was seeing through auspex and none of it sounded well on their part. There was even a werewolf among them. They were dealing with something dangerous, something they really shouldn't be involving themselves with.

"Are you here to deal with the problem?" A round whale of a man asked from his reclined position in his chair. He looked the least threatening of the group, but looks could be deceiving.

"What problem?" Norman asked with a frown. Were they expecting them?

"Oh you know the problem with the hippies and thugs. A lot of them have been moving into the city as of late." The man said.

Norman pulled out the card and handed it to the man. "Do you know anything about this?"

The roly-poly man grasped the card and held it at a distance to inspect it. "Ah, Christopher's card. You were sent by Christopher."

"…Well… we weren't exactly sent. You see we were at the prince's party and he crashed in, in a Zorro costume."

"Ah, he does that every Tuesday." The man commented. "Continue."

"… Okay." Norman continued awkwardly. "And he shouted something about the iron factory. Do you know anything about that?"

The man breathed through his nose for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. "Hmm… yes, the iron factory is one of the Club B properties. We have the deed… somewhere. Oh so hard to keep track of these things nowadays. Hmm… oh where was I?"

Alps held onto the jacket and cloak tightly as she glanced around the room. She's getting an odd feeling about this.

The man snapped up as he remembered what he was talking about. "Oh yes! The iron factory. Well, it's become quite a popular spot for those hippies to gather. I did say there was a good number of them coming into the city and gathering there."

"Why are they gathering?" Norman asked.

"Who knows." The man sighed. "We really don't bother ourselves with the politics of others. It's bad business you know."

"So about the prince." Norman started.

"We keep out of his business. He's quite young and rash." The man has waved off their prince as a minor inconvenience. They should really start to worry.

"So… how many are we talking about here?" Norman continued to ask.

"Hundreds… maybe thousands?" The man drawled. "Christopher was there earlier this evening I believe. He faced about two hundred of them before fleeing."

"… He looked unscathed." Norman said in disbelief.

Alps glanced to Laura when the conversation was starting to lose her attention. The quiet Malkavian was not looking so well. She was staring at someone in particular. Alps followed her gaze to the youngest looking member in the club. He stared at them intensely despite of his calm and relaxed demeanor.

"So… do you have any gasoline or explosives?" Norman's question made Alps do a double take. How did the conversation suddenly turn to explosives?

"Do we look like a warehouse boy? Of course we don't have that here! Though we do have someone that could do some fire tricks." He commented as he waved a hand towards the young gentleman Laura was staring at.

The man looked bored as flames flared from his hand and a dragon made from fire danced about in the air. Alps felt herself tense at such a threatening sight. The rest of her team was no different, though some held better than others. Laura let out a deranged scream as she ran straight for the window and crashed right through.

"Well… that was interesting." The round man said as Alps raced over to the window and peered out.

She spotted her deranged companion in a large disposal bin below. Laura was covered in garbage with her leg sticking out the edge, but she looked unharmed.

"Why do you want those things anyway?" The man continued, not caring that they have broken one of their windows.

"I was thinking maybe we could burn them out of the iron factory." Norman suggested.

"Burn them?" The man looked startlingly surprised. "That is an excellent idea! Do it like we do it in the old days!" The man struggled to sit up. "I shall join you! I haven't done this in ages!" He said excitedly as he struggled to get off the chair. "Just give me a moment! I'll be right with you youngens!"

By the time Alps glanced back, the roly-poly man was on the ground like a turtle flipped onto his back. She would've laughed if not for the threatening atmosphere.

"Hmm… maybe I will have to decline this time." The man decided after he failed to get up from the ground. "But good luck with those damn hippies."

"… We'll show ourselves out." Norman said as he quickly beckoned for Alps to follow him and James out of the townhouse.

Alps hurried after, but not before glancing one last time at the menacing man with flames. Something about him is definitely frightening.

"Laura, are you okay?" Norman asked as she stumbled back to the car, removing garbage from her person as she did so.

"J-just a little bruised." Her voice trembled as she stuttered. She was still shaken by the encounter.

"Are you sure? Can you still make it to the iron factory?" Norman asked.

She nodded as if not trusting her voice.

"All right, let's—"

THUMP!

The group jumped as they turned to where the noise came from. What they found was Aleksey landing on top of his car, his roof dented, as he stood there dazed. On his head was a beautiful tiara.

"…Aleksey?" Norman asked carefully.

The Russian vampire shook his head as he looked about. "Where am I?"

"We're following a trail that the Malkavian primogen left us. We're just about to head over to the iron factory…" James answered. "Where were you?"

"Aleksey does not remember." He said as he rubbed his head. "…What the hell?" He yanked at the tiara. "What is this? Why is it not coming off?"

"I-it's a very pretty tiara." Laura commented meekly.

"Tiara!" He roared as he tried to pull it off. "What joke is this?"

"It looks good on you." Norman joked.

"Forget this!" Aleksey grumbled as he jumped off the roof of his car and climbed into the driver seat. "We go to airport!"

"…Airport?" James questioned as they all piled into the car. "Why are we going there?"

"Aleksey's to-do list." He answered as he floored the gas.

Alps barely had any time to buckle herself in before he ran over cats and traffic cones on his way, just her luck to have another crazy driver in the same night. Somehow, they managed to reach the airport in one piece with Aleksey parking his car on the curb.

"Wait here. Aleksey go buy airport." He said as he left.

"… Did he just say buy airport?" James said in disbelief.

"Why me?" Norman groaned in exasperation as he jumped out of the car and raced after Aleksey.

"Either he's Malkavian… or there's something seriously wrong with him." James commented.

"H-hey!" Laura complained with a pout.

Alps sighed as she slumped into her seat again. What time is it? It felt like this night's been going on forever. She reached for her phone and glanced at the time. It was nearly five.

_Shit._The thought passed her mind as she pocketed the phone. They should really start heading back to their havens before the sun rises.

Ten minutes later, Norman was dragging Aleksey out through the sliding doors with security following close behind.

"How much do you want for airport?" Aleksey shouted. "Aleksey have millions!"

Norman looked thoroughly embarrassed as he shoved the Russian vampire back into the driver's seat. "Shut up and drive before they decide to arrest us. And why do you even need an airport?"

"Convenience for weapon shipping." Aleksey replied as he drove off. "Where to?"

"Back to the party. It's five already and I need to pick up my sire. He probably wasted himself." Alps muttered.

"Same here!" Laura added.

"…I guess we can deal with the iron factory tomorrow night." Norman decided.

"Bah, pussies." Aleksey snorted as they returned.

When they'd reached the party for the last time that evening, most of the guests were gone. Only a few stragglers were left behind. Most noticeably was the Malkavian primogen in his Zorro costume, tangoing with the tutu wearing Nosferatu primogen. Alps could hear Laura sigh as she marched up to the dancing duo. Her own sire was still seated at the bar with his completed pyramid of shot glasses.

"Come on, time to leave." Alps muttered as she hauled him off the counter.

"Ngh?" He garbled. She heaved an arm over her should as she stumbled forward. He towered over her with a good couple of heads making it hard for her to balance.

"… You're so going to regret this tomorrow." She grinned evilly as she made her way out of the building. Much to her surprise, Aleksey was still waiting for them in his car. Was he going to give them all a ride back to their havens?

"Where to?" Aleksey asked when Laura made it back with her sire still trying to dance with her on the sidewalk.

"Oh, you know that church on the far side of town?" Norman added.

"A church eh?" Aleksey raised a brow.

"What? Church? No, I mean it's near the church, who said anything about my haven being in a church? Not me! No siree!" Norman chuckled nervously.

Everyone could tell he's blatantly lying. "Just dump us off at the closest condemned building." Alps informed. She just needed somewhere safe to dump her sire. She's not going to show them where she really stays.

James and Laura on the other hand gave addresses to different hospitals.

"Oh! Aleksey! You should let us fix your car! After all we did take it without asking." Laura suggested.

"What do you mean we?" Alps glared. "I'm not French, there is no we in I."

"Nah, you don't have to." Aleksey responded.

"No, I insist!" Laura pressed on. "Alps if you help I'll get you something."

"Like?" Alps crossed her arms.

"Robes, rubber chicken, rope, puppy, games, weapons, money…mmm… donuts." Laura's sire droned drunkenly.

Laura glanced at him for a second before back to Alps. "Pick something from that list."

Alps stared at her in disbelief for a moment. She's not serious… oh wait, she is… What could she use? She took a moment to think before she decided. "…Puppy."

Laura clapped her hands. "All right, I'll get you a puppy if you fix Aleksey's car."

"Whatever! Now get out of Aleksey car!" Aleksey promptly kicked each person out as they came to their drop off spots before speeding off to the next location.

Alps found herself grinning and shaking her head as she hauled her drunken sire into the basement levels of the condemned building. By the time she made sure her sire wouldn't wake up and accidentally walk to his death in sunlight, it was already too late for her to leave. She was trapped with her sire until the next evening and he reeked of alcohol.

"Guess that can't be helped." She muttered as she plopped down next to her sire and closed her eyes.

Ten hours later…

Alps eyes snapped open as she sat up stretching out her limbs. Her sire was still dead asleep. Grinning, she crept over his shoulder and started screaming in his ear.

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!" She shouted with a cackle.

"Wha? Ngh!" He grumbled incoherently as he reached for his gun and pointed wildly.

Alps snorted back a chuckle as she patted his head lightly. "You should head back to your own haven before tomorrow morning. Don't get crisped!" She laughed over his groaning and moaning before leaving the building.

The night air was cool and she made a quick feeding trip, which did not take long considering the herd she's gathered over the years. And that was the problem it didn't take her long. She still had the rest of the night to kill and she was already bored.

What should she do tonight? Hack an ATM? Break into some rich folk's mansion? Toy with Leist's new security program? Nah, she'd already broken through his new program last week, she should at least give her ghoul some time to build up the next program before she makes it obsolete again.

"…So… bored…" She grumbled under her breath.

HONK!

Alps glanced back and spotted Aleksey in his car along with James and Laura. What were they doing here?

Aleksey leaned out of his window and shouted. "Come on, get in the car. We go pick up sissy man. Aleksey still need to go buy airport!"

The small vampire raised a brow, again with the airport? Well… it can't hurt, it's not like she has anything to do tonight anyway. Alps jogged over to the car and climbed in the backseat. She barely even closed the door before Aleksey slammed his foot onto the gas pedal.

"Crazy fucking Russian." Alps muttered under her breath as she righted herself and buckled in.

With how insanely the man was driving they managed to reach the church just in time to see Norman walk out cursing. "I told you I don't want jam and toast Lawrence! And I don't need a lunchbox!" He slammed the door at a billowing cloud of white dust and stomped towards the car.

"Lunchbox?" Aleksey snorted back laughter.

"Shut up and drive." Norman grumbled as he slammed the door behind him.

"So… What was all that about?" James asked.

"If you ever talk to my sire, Lawrence. Never and I mean NEVER accept any food that comes from him." Norman warned.

"Why?" James asked.

"Remember last night's party?" Norman continued.

"Yes?" Laura asked.

"Yeah, Lawrence was in charge of the supplying the blood." Norman muttered.

"And what's wrong with that? It looked like everyone had fun." James commented.

"Of course they were, the blood was filled with narcotics. They were all high." Alps snickered.

"How'd you know?" Norman frowned.

She gave him a deadpan look. "I had my fair share of feeding off druggies. I'm quite familiar with the taste. Also, you won't be able to survive long, if you can't recognize bad blood."

"… I don't want to know." Norman muttered. "Oh! I learned some things about Club B and the iron factory. At least Lawrence is useful for something for a change."

"Where are we going?" Aleksey asked.

"… You were driving the last ten minutes without going anywhere?" Norman asked, Alps could see his eye twitching.

"You never said where." The Russian vampire grinned.

"You…" Norman pinched the bridge of his nose and held his hands out in front of him to calm himself down. "It's okay… It's okay… Just drive us to the iron factory."

"So… what did you learn?" James asked when Aleksey was finally back on track.

"Right, remember the guys in Club B we met last night?" Norman started. Everyone nodded for him to continue. "The fat round guy is named Oswald and that group practically owns the city if not most of it. And get this, the werewolf there? Yeah, he's the fifth strongest werewolf in the area. And the guy that can summon a fucking dragon made of fire? He's either a high level mage or a fucking demon. We should not be messing with them."

Aleksey let out a low whistle. "Owns the city you say."

"What are you planning?" Norman narrowed his eyes at him.

"I don't know what you are talking about." He denied.

"And the iron factory?" James interrupts before an argument could break out.

Norman ignored their driver for the moment and continued. "About that… It seems like the hippies Oswald mentioned were actually Caitiffs. And Lawrence said there's a lot of radioactive shit going on there. I don't know what made him think it was wise to put things that could blow the entire city to kingdom come… Though… it could be that he regularly bathes himself in a tub of cocaine when he's bored…"

"…No firearms. Got it." James said.

"And that was directed to you as well Aleksey." Norman said loudly.

"Bah." Aleksey responded as he pulled the car to a stop. "What is plan now?"

Norman took control immediately. "We're going to talk to the Caitiffs. No fighting."

Aleksey rolled his eyes. "It's always no fighting when it comes to you."

"I'm going to walk in with…" Norman paused and glanced to Alps. "What's your name?"

She felt herself twitch in annoyance. Wasn't it a little late to ask for her name? True, she didn't really mention her name in front of the prince, but they should've asked at least. "Alps."

"Alps and I will walk in first to show we're not hostile. Are the three of you any good in stealth?" He paused and glanced at Aleksey for a moment before turning to Laura and James. "I should correct myself, are either of you any good at stealth?"

"I can cloak all three of us under obfuscate." James volunteered.

"All right, if anything goes wrong, I'll signal you guys for help." Norman concluded and waved a hand. "Come on Alps."

She gave a sigh as she followed with her hands in her pocket. The iron factory looked deserted and dead, but they all knew better. The silence was just a façade. There were hundreds, maybe thousands of Caitiffs lying in wait. Wherever they went, they could spot graffiti and gang signs littered on the walls.

"This is stupid, why are we here?" Alps muttered.

"Because the Malkavian primogen told us to." Norman reasoned.

"… And we're doing this for him why?" Alps asked. "We're not being rewarded for this. He never mentioned rewards."

"…Shut up." Norman retorted. "You wouldn't understand. And another thing—" He came to an abrupt pause as he glanced around. "Someone's here."

Alps stopped as well and searched with her eyes. Though she didn't need to as a group of Caitiffs made their presence noticed by stepping out of their hiding spots. She and Norman were nearly surrounded. Alps made a quick survey of the Caitiffs and the weapons they were holding.

Most were holding firearms, but they all seem to have some wear and tear. There was a high chance these weapons were going to misfire. She glanced around the ground for possible weapons and spotted lead pipes resting a short distance away. If anything goes wrong, she's not going in unarmed.

"Who are you and what are you doing in our territory?" The leader Caitiff demanded.

"We're not here to fight." Norman raised his hands trying to settle them down. "We just want to have a talk."

"And what does the Camarilla want with the likes of us?" He frowned.

"You're claiming a territory that's not your own." Norman reasoned.

"And what are you going to do about it?" He crossed his arms.

"You do know this area is highly radioactive and explosive right? If I were to bomb this place, you'd be gone." Norman pointed it out.

"We know and we're betting that you wouldn't." He said smugly. "This would take the entire city with it and the war would just go on with one less group to contend."

"…What war?" Norman frowned.

"There's a war coming and everyone is in on it. Why do you think we're gathering here? We're going to have ten thousand Caitiffs here when the war finally breaks hell."

"… Are you part of the war?" Norman asked.

The lesser vampire shook his head. "Nope, we're not going to do a thing. We're going sit here and watch you tear each other apart. We're going to be the ones that survive this."

"… You do know the prince is going to hear about this." Norman threatened.

"You wanna bet he already knows?" The man drawled.

"Who else is in this war?" Norman pressed on.

"Everyone." The man said firmly. "If you want to fight us, we will fight, but I'm sure you're wiser than that."

Norman was silent for a moment, thinking over what he wanted, but Alps was getting bored.

"What about the children?" Alps asked. That was what the Malkavian primogen was shouting about. Did he want them to save them?

"The young vampires, yes we have them. They're standing with our cause." The man answered.

So there's no hostage situation. Alps was officially bored and not listening to whatever else Norman was asking or whatever else the Caitiff was answering. By this point, it was just a waste of her time. Oddly, she spotted cards on the ground, she was sure they weren't there before. At a closer look, she noticed it was Aleksey's business card.

…

Was he trying to advertise his weapons to the Caitiffs?

"All right Alps, let's go." Norman placed a hand on her shoulder and led her away.

"Finally." She gasped out in relief as they made their way back to the car.

The group sat in silence as they all digested the information sans Alps because she could really care less about a war that does not involve her.

"We should go tell the prince about this. This is really big!" Norman murmured.

"And maybe Aleksey find out what happened last night." The Russian rubbed his chin as he thought over the plan.

"Then it's settle, we go see the prince." Norman concluded before Aleksey drove off to the prince's mansion.

The guards were back and they were all patted down. Their weapons were held in storage until they were done with the prince. The ghouls were hastily cleaning up whatever mess that was leftover from the party. The prince was seen on his throne rubbing his temples from a bad migraine. The sheriff stood by his side looking as intimidating as ever.

"You majesty we have important information to give to you." Norman said as he gave his bow.

"Oh make it quick. I have a ghastly headache. The bloody Nosferatu primogen was dancing here all night. He just wouldn't leave!" The prince bemoaned.

"Your majesty, there's a war coming. I've just spoken with some Caitiffs, they too are also trying to gather their forces." Norman informed.

The prince rubbed his head. "Yes, yes I know that already. Anything else?"

"… You do?" Norman was baffled.

"I'll have someone deal with it." He sighed. "If there's nothing else. Gods this bloody headache."

"Sire, if you don't mind me asking… Why did you let Lawrence handle the blood for the party?" Norman asked.

"…It seemed harmless at the time. Though he did say he'll make it interesting… Blast the man." He groaned before fanning his hand at them. "Away with you. I need to rest."

The sheriff bowed as the prince left, but turned to the group. "You really don't need to bother the prince with the matters like this. He knew that the Caitiffs were doing stuff for quite some time."

"And why aren't you doing anything?" Norman asked curiously. "Do you know anything more about this?"

The sheriff sighed. "Listen, my job is to protect the prince. It's his duty to deal with whatever that goes on in his city. If he asks, I'll pull out my swords and hack whatever poor bastards he sends me to go after. Other than that it's really not my business."

"Ah… I see…" Norman murmured. "One last thing… Do you happen to know what happened to him?" He thumbed back at Aleksey. "He disappeared last night and came back with that on his head."

The man glanced at Aleksey and looked mildly interested. "Interesting choice in jewelry."

"Did you or did you not see Aleksey last night?" The Russian vampire crossed his arms.

"Hmm… oh yes, I remember you getting carried off by the owl last night." The man answered.

"…Terrence? Bob's owl?" James asked.

"Yes, that one." The sheriff agreed. "It happens from time to time. If you want to know what happened. It's best to talk to the mage."

"Do you have any way to contact Bob?" Aleksey asked.

"Do I look like I mingle with the party?" The sheriff sighed.

"We'll figure something out. Thank you and good evening." Norman said before dragging the group out of the mansion and back into the car. "I think I could get us a meeting with Bob, but I'll have to talk to Lawrence about it. Do you think you can drive me back to that church er… the area by the church?"

"We know that church is your haven." James quipped. Aleksey was already speeding psychotically down the road and towards the religious house.

"Damn it…" Norman muttered. "Just drop me off. It might take a little while. I'll call you guys when I'm done."

"Okay. I kick you out now." Aleksey said. "Goodbye."

"Wait what?" Norman barely managed to say before Aleksey kick him out of his car without stopping.

"All right. We go to Club B now." Aleksey chirped as he sped along the road. Why a cop hadn't stopped them yet, no one knows.

"Hey Aleksey… what's this sack you have here?" James asked. Alps glanced and spotted the big brown bag.

"Bag of rubles." He replied simply.

"…Why?" James asked.

"I make deal to buy airport."

"… You're not over it yet?" James asked.

"Never over until over!" Aleksey declared before driving his car up on the curve in front of Club B. He reached back to grab the bag before leaving the car. "Wait here. Aleksey come back with airport."

"… Shouldn't someone follow him?" James asked as they watched him enter with the bag.

"Do you want to?" Alps asked.

"… Not really." James said as he twiddled his thumbs.

"Hey! This is a great time to fix Aleksey's car!" Laura chirped up. "We have some time to kill right? Come on Alps. What do you say?"

Alps sighed. "Just get this over with."

She studied the dented car roof for a moment before smashing her palm upwards. She continued to do so until the roof was no longer caved in and somewhat resembled what the car interior looked like. Once she was done, she climbed onto the roof and tried to flatten out the dents and folds of the metal with her fists. All the while, Laura was washing off whatever blood that was covering the car.

It was a half-assed job, but unless someone looks closely, no one would've known Aleksey had landed on the roof and left a heavy dent. It just looks like an old car that needs a paint job.

"Done. Happy?" Alps said in deadpan as Laura nodded happily and skipped back into the car. Rather than climb back into the back seat, Alps took the front. She rather not sit next to the woman.

"Now we just have to go get you a puppy. Now… where can we get you one?" She pondered.

"I know where. You just have to dish out the money." Alps droned. There was a Toreador in town that bred dogs for vampire companionship.

"Crazy men!" Aleksey came grumbling out of Club B. "Twenty-five million for an airport. What a rip off! And it's not complete airport!"

"Aleksey! Can you drive us somewhere to pick up Alps' new puppy?" Laura gushed.

"Puppy?" Aleksey frowned.

"Come on! It'll be quick!" She tugged at his shirt. "Please!"

"Fine, fine. Where is puppy shop?" Aleksey asked.

Alps entered the address into the GPS without a word. Aleksey drove to the place with no protest, other than grumbling about stupid men that's trying to rip him off.

"You guys don't have to bother to get out. We'll try to be quick." Alps muttered as Laura skipped out and followed her to the door.

DING DONG!

The door creaked open with a fashionable man standing on the other side. "May I help you?" He drawled.

"We're here to buy a puppy!" Laura chirped.

He eyed them for a moment. "What type?"

"American Akita." Alps answered.

"Hmm… yes, we have some of those. Come in." He said as he led them in.

The house smelled strongly of dog and the sound of new pups yipping and barking could be heard with each step further into the house. There were a number of breeds in the house and it took a minute or so before the man led them to the Akita pen. A litter of six-month-old pups pounced at the doggy gates happily glad to see visitors of any sort.

"Which one do you want?" The man drawled.

"Oh! They're all so cute!" Laura gushed as she knelt down to look at the excited pups.

Alps was not interested in the excitable pups. She was more interested in the lazy one lounging at the back of the room. It would be easier to train the dog without a short puppy attention span. "I want that one in the back." She pointed.

"Very well. All our dogs are quality breed. That one will be eight hundred." He answered.

"Can you include a leash, two toys and a bag of dog food too?" Laura asked.

"That's an extra sixty." He answered.

"All right!" Laura said as she reached into her pocket for her wallet.

"You can go pick up the dog yourself, I'll prepare the rest." He said.

Alps wasted no time in stepping over the doggy gate and made her way to the lazy pup. The other pups tried to pounce her as she made her way to her chosen puppy, but she easily shook them off and gathered her prize. The dog glanced up at her briefly before lowering his head. He didn't look all that interested at all.

_Perfect_. She grinned as she walked down the hall. Laura can handle the payment and whatever else she bought. She'd wait back in the car and play with her new dog.

"Are we done with doggy business now?" Aleksey asked.

"Yep!" Laura said as she climbed in and strapped in.

"All right! Aleksey go to airport now!" He said as he sped to the airport once again.

"…Why are we going to the airport now? Didn't you say you couldn't buy it?" James asked.

"Yes, Aleksey tried to play nice. Now Aleksey will take airport." He hummed to himself as he swerved through traffic.

"Take?" James sounded like he didn't want to know the answer.

"You will see when we get there." Aleksey answered and the ride was silent.

When they arrived, Aleksey left the car and went to his trunk. No one said anything when they spotted him gearing up with guns and ammo. Alps would've done nothing, but she now had a puppy to worry over.

"Hold him." Alps dropped the puppy in James' arms before climbing over the back seat and jumping out of the back to tackle Aleksey.

However, Aleksey being much bigger than her, she only managed to cling onto his back. "What is this?" He said as he tried to glance back.

Alps tried to smash her fist into the back of his head, but he abruptly ducked and tossed her off his back. She landed face first onto the ground.

"HA! Good try little girl! Aleksey go play hide-and-seek now." He said as he marched into the airport.

Alps groaned as she sat up and rubbed her face. Seconds later, gunshots and screams could be heard all over the airport. With an exasperated sigh she climbed to her feet and ran into the airport, but from what she saw there wasn't much for her to save. Aleksey was slowly strolling through the vast halls shooting every person he saw. People were either dead or twitching with blood lost.

RING! RING!

Aleksey paused briefly in his shooting to reach into his pants for his phone. "Hello?" He raised his gun over his shoulder. "I at airport playing hide-and-seek." He pointed his gun at a stewardess. "I see you!"

BANG!

"Oh you are done Norman?" Aleksey said as he pointed his gun at another target. "Come pick you up?"

BANG!

"I almost done."

BANG!

"All right. I am done. See you soon." He hung up and turned around. His eyes met up with Alps'. "What? I own airport now."

Should she even try to find reason in this man's head?

"…" Alps turned her heel and walked back to the car. Nope, she's wasn't even going to try.

o.o.o.o.o

CM Aeris: Whew, these are getting really long. Thanks again Rob for beta-ing the chapter! And I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I am.


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